I don’t think there’s any need to introduce Felicia Day on this website at this point. from guild, to dragon age 2 and Fallout: New Vegasto buffy and supernatural, and recently her work Nora God, an important role, Additionally, she continues to be a positive presence almost everywhere in geek culture. But in 2020, she found something she wasn’t doing: writing graphic novels.
So she did.
The graphic novel is Lost Daughter of Sparta, A new story of Greek mythology centered around an obscure figure in Philonoedaughter of Leda (of the Swan) and sister of Castor, Pollux (of the Star), and Helen (of Troy). As a lifelong fan of Greek mythology and a fan of Felicia from way back, I of course couldn’t bring myself to chat with her right away ahead of the book’s release later this month.
Dan Arndt: You’ve written two books (Embrace your weirdness:
Face your fears and unleash your creativity and You are (almost) never a weirdo on the internet But this is a complete graphic novel. How did it feel compared to those tasks?
felicia’s day: This is my first graphic novel, but I’ve done comics for Dark Horse before. guild. But creating graphic novels in a longer format and on purpose was definitely different, but also natural in a way because I love reading graphic novels. This format is really beautiful and familiar to me. I definitely read more graphic novels than stand-alone comics myself. My daughter is obsessed with graphic novels and won’t read anything but graphic novels.
The subject matter I’m talking about is also a little different, so I felt that making it in a graphic novel format would bring it closer to not only fans of my work, but also the world of otaku and otaku culture. It’s part of our DNA, and it’s pretty much the original DNA of modern geek culture. So I’m excited to be able to participate in this format and challenge myself and tell a story that’s really personal to me, even though it was written thousands of years ago.
D.A.: I love mythology, but when I researched the character…she’s pretty unknown.
FD: Yes, she is a character I plucked from an ancient text. Only one line was found about this character. However, she is connected to Helen of Troy, one of the most famous female characters in Greek mythology. So that really fascinated me.
I started writing it in 2020. Since the coronavirus outbreak was happening, I felt the need to write something outside of what I normally do, and something that doesn’t really work in Hollywood. I felt the freedom of not having to write to please others, and I really wanted to do something to please myself. This was a story I couldn’t stop thinking about.
DA: Greek mythology has always had a lot of gender politics involved. But specifically, the nature of Sparta was a very aggressive and masculine place. It’s something that people still bring up today. Was that part of the interest of this story for you as part of your process of working on it?
FD: The story is actually set in ancient Mycenae, the predecessor of Sparta and the time of Homer. odyssey It was actually set. We don’t know much about that society and when you read the book. odysseyyou are reading an oral tradition that tells about ancient history. to them. Those were their “good old days.” So it’s very interesting to dig deeper into what actually happened back then and what we think about it.
We think of Sparta as a very masculine society, but in fact it was in some ways the most female-friendly society in ancient Greece. Women can get divorced and own property. In fact, it was probably the place where women enjoyed the most freedom in a patriarchal society. So what I’m saying is that this history is really interesting, because it’s really interesting, and I encourage anyone who is even remotely interested to dig into it.
D.A.: But there’s more going on with Philonau beyond gender, right?
FD: Lost Daughter of Sparta It’s very feminist in nature, but it’s also really about identity. I’ve heard that people who don’t identify as women are also responding very well to this story. Because this is a story about being a human being defined by society’s outward appearance, and not being able to meet the inner human need to become one’s true self. I was homeschooled, so I grew up in a vacuum where I was judged by my appearance. That’s why I’m the geek, geek, and gamer I am today. But when I stepped into the wider world, especially Hollywood, where I was the outsider, I felt really devalued. I felt like a lot of perceptions didn’t reflect who I was as a person, and I felt like I was trying to fit into what they wanted from me in many areas of my life. But when I’m happiest, I’m being true to myself and following in my footsteps.
This is really the journey of a girl trying to figure out how she fits into the world. Perhaps she cannot adapt to the world, how can she find happiness? Will she create her own world or will she remain in the world as herself and stand firm? So this is a really empowering story no matter what your background is.
DA: I’ve been getting some really good Greek mythology material lately. Hades Town, Roa Olympusand so were you Stray God. With all of that in mind, how did you keep it different and fresh?
FD: I think the same is true of Christopher Nolan. odyssey When it’s released this summer, it’s definitely time to have a serious conversation about these things. To be honest, our religion currently drives much of our politics, so it may be an aspect of religion that we are interested in what role religion played in the lives of the ancient Greeks. So God, the way people follow God, the rules that religion impresses on us, maybe that’s what’s in our heads.
These are gods we can imagine, there are so many stories we can play with, and they are so human. What I love about history is that you can read it and understand it. In some parts [Michele de] Montaigne’s essay complains about people driving horse-drawn carriages in fast lanes in the 1500s. When Herodotus was writing his history, he was complaining about the trash on the streets, and he’s kind of a NIMBY. So it’s really interesting to see that no matter when you live, people are still people, it’s just that society was different.
DA: One of the things I love about writing is that every time I write something, it becomes a very personal experience. As you were writing this, was there anything that surprised you or that you learned about yourself or what you learned while writing?
FD: First of all, I had never written a story this long before, so I was like, “Felicia, you can do this.” I’ve always wanted to write a novel. I was just scared. The script is completely different, but working on this long-term project encouraged me that it was worth working on. Even if only one person liked this book, it would be worth the effort because this particular story meant a lot to me.
I think it showed me that if you care enough about something, if it means something to you on a deeper level, and you’re not just looking for the end result, money, fame, recognition, external things… that can be so incredibly satisfying and healing. Finding that project is so valuable to yourself that you have to actually go into the world and get it done. Because it’s really difficult, especially in the middle of a project. You begin to lose faith in yourself. I get lost. I don’t know where to go.
Just know that you are worth the effort.
It gave me confidence as an artist and the confidence to pursue stories that may not be ‘commercial’. I don’t think anyone is going to turn this into a TV series…and I don’t care. Because this story is worth telling. It was really good to free myself. And I would like to continue doing this in the future.
You can pre-order Lost Daughter of Sparta By Felicia Day and artist Rowan McCall, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.comor at your place Favorite independent bookstore. Scheduled for release on March 17, 2026.
Image courtesy of Simon & Schuster
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